Porcelain Mask
by Nanase Haruka
Summary: When a porcelain mask falls off, the secrets carefully hidden come into the light. He is not who he seems to be. Vote for pairings. Smart!Naruto UPDATE
1. Prelude: Back Then

Prelude: Back Then

By: ku.ro-puu26

---

The night was peaceful, maybe a little too peaceful, Sarutobi noted. Crickets sung their nightly song as a light breeze swept through Konoha. The moon was a full one, but an eerie red.

_A bad omen._ The old Hokage grimaced at the thought; he'd better prepare himself for the worst. Taking a glance at what he could see from the Hokage tower, he lowered his gaze to the earth. There, sitting by a tree in the middle of the night, was the one he treated like another grandson. The said boy was tightly hugging his knees to his chest as if to protect himself from the rest of the world. Saying that, it probably was the truth, Sarutobi realized, sighing. For now, he'd best be getting the boy into his house.

---

_Why is everyone always calling me a 'demon?' The only people who go by my name are the old man and Itachi-nii._ Naruto never had any friends in the village. All the kids his age he tried playing with, or even talking to, were pulled away by their parents and then gave him a glare that held so much hate that he couldn't't possibly comprehend at his young age. _Why does everyone seem to hate me so much? What did I do?_

The only thing he had wanted to do tonight was to see his Itachi-nii because he couldn't't sleep. Then all of a sudden, just as he was passing a dark alley, a group of drunken men stepped in front of him. Not noticing, as he was so lost in his thoughts, managed to bump into one of them.

"Gomen, I wasn't looking where I was going." Naruto apologized, hastily and tried to move around them, but someone tugged back on his shirt, causing him to fall on the ground.

Sweeping his beady eyes over to the "thing" that had crashed into him, he smirked, unpleasantly, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

One of his drinking buddies answered his question, "It looks like we caught ourselves a fox demon!"

"What do you say about teaching him a lesson, he'll never forget?" Someone suggested, eying the blue-eyed child. Naruto noticed a malicious glint in his eyes and didn't like it one bit. He soon found out why.

---

"Naruto-kun," A gentle voice weaved its way to Naruto's ears, sometime after he had managed to escape from the drunken men. He peaked through his arms to see the Hokage. "What are you doing here?"

Silence ensued the statement; it was pretty obvious that the blonde didn't want to talk about that subject. Sarutobi sighed, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Come with me."

Once the two had found their way to a more private place, the Hokage's office, a sob racked through Naruto's lithe frame. A sad smile flashed by on the elderly man's face as he bent down pulling Naruto to his chest.

---

Itachi was scared. It might seem a bit queer to think of the words, "Itachi" and "scared," in the same sentence, but it was the only way to describe how he was feeling right now. The snake sannin, who had abandoned Konoha several years back, had demanded that the Uchiha clan hand over Itachi. The Uchihas, of course, blatantly refused to trade off the genius, which is why their corpses now littered the mansion. There was only one survivor, Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother. Sasuke saw Itachi kneeling over his parents' dead bodies and jumped to conclusion. The elder Uchiha saw this as a chance; he had to make sure that Sasuke wouldn't recklessly go after the snake sannin. Apparently, his best friend had sold him out to Orochimaru, which left Itachi no other choice but to kill him. With his newly acquired Mangekyou Sharingan, he placed an illusion upon his brother, showing that it was _him_ who had killed the Uchiha clan.

Now, Itachi did the only thing he could think of; tell the Hokage.

---

A loud 'slam' was heard from the door that led to the Hokage's office, startling the two occupants. The current Hokage was crouched down beside, with his arms wrapped around the eight year old blonde, and soothingly rubbing circles on his back. The person entering the office wore an official ANBU uniform with his katana slung on his back; his mask long removed before he had made his presence known. He had onyx eyes and dark hair that was tied in a low ponytail to match. His breathing was slightly laboured and harsh as he rushed into the room.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Itachi questioned, surprised at what his friend was doing up at this time of night. Not to mention the fact that he saw tears dripping down the blonde's cheeks.

"Itachi-kun," The Hokage acknowledged the teenager.

With panic etched on his entire face, the teen began, "Hokage-sama, I… I need to talk to you about something."

About half and hour later, Itachi was finished his story and Sarutobi rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, you definitely can't stay in Konoha. Thus, I'm afraid, I have to send you on a long-term mission; to the public, you are a S-Class missing ninja."

"What mission might that be?" The ebony haired male asked, curiously.

"To infiltrate the secret organization made up of S-Class missing nins, Akatsuki." Sarutobi explained, briefly, "I have the full details on this scroll."

The Sharingan user took the offered scroll and gripped it firmly. Naruto stared up at him with round, blue eyes, "Is Itachi-nii leaving?"

Bending down to the 8-year-old's height, he hugged the other tightly, "I'll come back, promise."

"If Itachi-nii is leaving, then I will leave too!" This exclamation caused the younger shinobi to pull away from Naruto. "Nobody will miss me anyways; everyone always wants me gone and calls me a 'demon.' I don't like it when Itachi-nii isn't around."

Naruto gave a smile that was heartbreaking; the other two couldn't help but smile back. The sun began to illuminate the room as the elderly man finalized the mission. A new day was about to begin and as the Hokage, he had to announce the dreaded demise of Konoha's most powerful clan.

To be continued…

---

After note: Saa, I hope everyone enjoyed the prologue. Isn't a 8-year-old Naruto, who's attached to Itachi, adorable?

I accept reviews and constructive criticism. Flames will be used to torch dreaded Gr. 10 homework. Please keep in mind that this is my first Naruto fanfic. -squeals- I'm so excited! I've wanted to write a Naruto story for so long.

Also, sorry if I may have taken a bunch of ideas from other stories and bunched them up into one, but I do NOT plagiarize! This is 100-percent my own work.

One more thing, I'd like everyone to know that you are able to vote for a pairing, even though it probably won't show up until much, much later. Err, however, the only pairings I am **unwilling** to write are SasuSaku and NaruHina. It's simply too cannon for my tastes. Sorry to all the fans. I'm completely open-minded to any other pairings, which includes het (boy x girl), yaoi (boy x boy), and yuri (girl x girl). Voting will be open for a while, so get your votes in!

_Look forward to the next chapter -- Chapter 1: Return to Konoha._

_And ku.ro-puu disappears in the flames of youth (sorry, couldn't help myself XD)!_


	2. Chapter 1: Return to Konoha

Chapter 1: Return to Konoha  
By: ku.ro-puu26

---

"Alright, it's break time!" A yell came from a room full of kids, "Come back in one hour!"

The children managed a "hai" before everyone dashed out of the classroom, excited. Except for one person. The said person simply didn't "rush" because it would completely ruin his reputation, as the _genius Uchiha Sasuke_, besides it wasn't in his vocabulary. The only Uchiha (in Konoha, at least) had a tendency to brood, thinking about how to get stronger and exact his revenge on… At that thought, he gritted his teeth together.

_Itachi… I _will_ kill you. For what you've done to me, and for what you've done to my clan._ The dark haired boy narrowed his eyes, dangerously. While other children his age were off playing silly games, Sasuke did no such thing. He was determined to train at every single spare moment he had, which included lunchtime. With that he walked off into a clearing in the forest.

---

"Itachi-nii, are they sending me back to Konoha?" A blonde haired boy questioned, staring up at his surrogate brother.

"Hai. Naruto-kun, be careful, alright? Don't let anyone find out about your mission." Itachi lectured the younger teenager. Naruto rolled his eyes, showing that he already knew. "Now, go. I'll be waiting after the Chuunin Exams for your report."

The blue-eyed teen nodded and headed towards the Konoha gates.

---

Going training without lunch was a very stupid idea, he realized after he had collapsed from exhaustion and hunger. His eyes blinked wearily as someone looked down upon him.

"You know, for a genius, you're pretty stupid." The said person above him mocked. At that statement, Sasuke growled, not at all appreciating it.

"And what the hell do you know?" Sasuke scowled. The individual bending over him had bright blonde hair, surprisingly sky blue eyes, and three whisker-like scars on each cheek. The only blonde he knew of was that Yamanaka girl, who ran the flower shop.

The blue-eyed boy snickered at his expression, before saying, "Here, eat, moron." With nothing else to say, the other male placed a bento box on the ground next to Sasuke and left. The soon-to-be Sharingan user rolled over to his side and stared at the lunch the boy left behind. He growled at the stranger's attitude. Just who the hell did he think he was?

---

Finally, an hour had passed and all the Academy students gathered back in the classroom. There was really nothing to be learned today actually, it was more like a review, since tomorrow was the Genin Exam.

Iruka stood in front of the class, about to restart the practice test until he was interrupted by a knock at the door. He excused himself for a moment and went to open the door.

"Ah, Hokage-sama!" The scarred man exclaimed, surprised. The Hokage smiled, gently, and the rest of the conversation was quite soft, so no one could really make out what they were saying. Iruka nodded and with that the Hokage left. He re-entered the room with a blonde boy following him.

"... That boy..." Sasuke murmured, but the pink haired girl sitting next to him heard it.

"Sasuke-kun, do you know that boy?" Sakura inquired, staring at the Uchiha and back at the blonde.

Sasuke didn't answer as Iruka introduced the boy as Uzumaki Naruto and how he would also be taking the Genin Exam tomorrow. The newly introduced child grinned, widely and said something about he hopes to get along with other people.

"Ah, Naruto, why don't you take a seat next to…" Iruka paused, thinking for a moment, "Sasuke!"

_Itachi-nii's little brother, right?_ Naruto smirked, before seeing the genius straighten up from his previous position. The blonde, 12-year-old silently moved to near the back of the class to sit next to the Uchiha.

"Hey! I'm Naruto." Naruto smiled, stupidly, and took his seat.

Sasuke looked a little ticked off before replying, "I know your name, idiot."

The rest of the day was very uneventful and soon it was dusk.

---

A few knocks were heard on the door that led to the Hokage's office. The previously retired Hokage looked up from his paperwork, "Come in."

The person standing outside did so, and the door slid open to reveal a blonde, who wore a agonizing bright orange jumpsuit and a new ninja hitai-ate.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, I see that you've passed the Genin Exam." The Hokage acknowledged, nodding approvingly towards the boy, "How was it?"

"Hokage-sama, the exam was easy - just that I needed to play the dead last so I am able to be paired with the strongest in our graduating class." Naruto smiled slightly, before continuing, "But, that's not the reason I'm here for. I need to address the case of where I'll be staying in Konoha."

Sarutobi grinned, "Of course, I hope you remember your old apartment?"

A sigh escaped from Naruto's lips, "I take it, that's where I'll be staying from now on."

"Yes." The old man's grin turned into a full blast one.

---

"Alright, today is the day of the Genin Exam; everyone is to come down to the front of the room, once called." The other Chunnin Academy teacher, Mizuki, explained, staring at all the students' faces.

"Akimichi, Chouji." A fat boy with spirals on his cheeks slowly walked down towards the front of the room, looking nervous.

"Alright, Chouji, please use the henge technique and transform into me." Iruka informed. The Academy student nodded and performed the said technique. His henge was good, except he was missing the scar that ran across Iruka's nose. The two Chuunins accepted it, and told him to create 3 bushins.

"Bushin no Jutsu." Three perfect clones stood next the chubby boy, when he cancelled the jutsu, Chouji looked expectantly at the two.

As Mizuki nodded in approval, the brown-haired male said, "Pass." A few more names passed by, including and soon it was Sakura's turn.

"Next, Haruno, Sakura." The pink-haired girl wouldn't let this exam scare her - she was going to pass with flying colours. She was determined to impress "her" Sasuke-kun.

"Henge." Sakura said, as she did the hand seals for the transformation skill. The Haruno copied her instructor perfectly, and then continued on to the bushin.

"Excellent job, Sakura, you pass." Iruka said with a smile on his lips. Then he proceeded to call out the next name, after handing the newly-named kunoichi a hitai-ate. "Hyuuga, Hinata."

A white-eyed, extremely nervous looking female got up from her seat and slightly stumbled down the steps to get to the front.

_What's up with her?_ A certain blonde headed boy thought, carefully inspecting her antics.

"H-henge." Again, it was another perfect copy. Naruto stared at her, wondering why she was so nervous in the first place, when not only was she a Hyuuga, but she was pretty decent. Hyuuga usually had a typical characteristic; being snobs. Apparently, this did not apply to this one.

The exam continued on, with no one failing as of yet, and finally, it came down to the last few people of the class, Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino.

The Uchiha passed with flying colours, perfecting every single skill. The next person to go would be the newcomer, who had just arrived yesterday, just in time for the exam. Whispers broke out about how talented he was – some said he would do horrible because the blonde was only here for one day. Others begged to differ; they said that he was as good as Sasuke, arguing that otherwise he wouldn't come to the exam the day before it.

"Uzumaki, Naruto." Grinning like an idiot, the said male came down to the lower half of the class. The demon-container was told to barely pass the exam, so that he wouldn't completely reveal his true potential, and that way, he would get paired up with the strongest in the graduating class. This meant, he would have to do worse than Shikamaru to be a dead last.

"Please show us your henge technique, please." The blonde nodded, pretended to concentrate really hard, before executing the hand seals. His henge was almost flawless, except the Iruka standing in front of the two teachers was blue-eyed and was missing the scar across his nose.

Iruka inspected the henge and asked the silver-haired teacher if it was alright. The other man nodded; satisfied, the scarred instructor gave him a small "okay." Next was the bushin, which was performed badly, on Naruto's intent. His teachers stared at the three bushins. Sighing heavily, "Pass."

Even though the technique was poorly done, it would still be enough to fool the enemy, and so the new dead last passed. A lot of the previous talkers started again. Finally, the exam ended, after the Yamanaka passed with a grade, worthy to be praised.

"Tomorrow, we will announce your three-man teams. Please arrive at the Academy at 7AM." Iruka explained, pausing for a second before saying, "Congratulations to all that have passed!"

---

The morning sky was bright, as the sun's rays shined through the thin curtains that barely covered the window of a small bedroom. The sun intended to wake up a certain blonde ninja, however, the said blonde was already awake and ready to leave for the Academy. As of now, it was only half-past six, half an hour before he was needed at the school.

Quickly, making a small breakfast, he gobbled it down, and glanced at the clock on his wall once again - fifteen minutes till seven. That was enough time to leisurely walk to his destination.

---

As expected by the blue-eyed male, he arrived at exactly seven, and even then, not all of the graduates had arrived. Sighing, Naruto quickly took a seat, unknowing that he had sat beside this year's number one rookie. Right at that moment, the sliding door slammed open, exposing two of the Uchiha's fan girls. They were pushing back and forth, trying to enter the class before the other. Ino and Sakura finally gave up and both stared towards the seat next to Sasuke, which was currently being occupied by Naruto.

"Naruto, move!" The two girls screeched. The only acknowledgment that the orange-wearing boy was to cover his ears with his hands, and continue ignoring them. Seeing this, the fan girls attempted to shove Naruto off of his seat from beside their "love," but Iruka chose to enter at that moment.

"What are you two girls doing?"

"Eek!" The females, who were battling over one seat, quickly forgot what they were doing and sat down anywhere. The Chuunin teacher was scary when angry.

Iruka smiled slightly, "Now for your team assignments. Team 1 consists of -"

The list continued on until a dark-haired boy's name was mentioned, "Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke,"

All the girls, who hadn't been assigned to a team yet, tensed at the mention of their beloved Sasuke-kun. Everyone wanted to be on his team, not only was he the only Uchiha, but he was also the year's top rookie.

The scarred man ignored the tension that arose when Sasuke's name was heard, "Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto."

A huge shout of "YOSH!" was heard from the pink-haired girl, who proceeded to rub it into "Ino-pig's" face and how true love would always prevail.

Naruto sighed, hearing the team he was on - "Why do I have to be stuck with this banshee of a girl?"

"EXCUSE ME?" A extremely loud, deafening cry was heard at least 5 miles away, objecting to what the blonde had said only moments earlier. "Would you care to repeat that again?"

A sickly sweet smile spread across the green-eyed girl's face - Naruto noticed this of course. He was supposed to be a good observer because he had travelled a lot before he came to Konoha.

"I'll repeat this again, since you were too slow to catch what I said before, 'why do I have to be stuck with this banshee of a girl?'" Naruto chirped, accentuating every word slowly, mocking her.

A war cry emitted from her throat, as she pounded the demon-container repetitively on the head, and he simply sat there, taking the hits.

Iruka swiftly broke up their argument and continued on with the team names. Soon, everyone was assigned and all the jounin instructors had arrived, well, except for one. Team 7 still sat in the classroom waiting for the jounin to come. While Sakura attempted at conversation with the coal-eyed Uchiha, the three previous students of the Academy waited for their teacher. Naruto grumbled frequently, before finally snapping and taking a chalkboard eraser and sticking it in between the door and the wall.

"Baka, what are you doing?" Sakura inquired, still angry. Naruto beamed and said, "Serves him right for being two hours late."

"… As if a jounin will fall for such a stupid trick." Sasuke finally spoke. Right at that second, the door slid open, before the chalk eraser dropped on top of a silver-haired ninja's head with a small "thunk."

"My first impression of you guys is…" The one-eyed man stared at the three genins, "That I don't like you."

Sakura shrieked, while Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Naruto looked mildly shocked.

---

After note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! They were simply a surprise! D I usually don't make chapters long, so be grateful for this one. Also, I don't have much time anymore, mostly because of school - it's so hectic!

Thanks to rubydragon666 for correcting me about the difference between "Sennin" and "Sannin." By the way, do you capitalize the ninja rankings (i.e. **C**huunin or is just **c**huunin)?

As for the pairings, this is how it's turned out:

Yaoi category  
SasuNaru/NaruSasu: 4 votes  
ItaNaru: 2 votes  
NejiNaru: 1 vote  
GaaNaru/NaruGaa: 2 votes  
HakuNaru: 1 vote

Het category  
NaruSaku: 2 votes  
NaruIno: 1 vote  
NaruTenten: 1 vote  
Other side pairings: 2 votes

Random fact: Isn't it sad that this story has 15 reviews but is on 27 favorites?

_Stay tuned for the next chapter -- Chapter 2: Teamwork is Vital._

_And ku.ro-puu disappears in the flames of youth (sorry, couldn't help myself XD)!_


	3. Chapter 2: Teamwork is Vital

Chapter 2: Teamwork is Vital

By: ku.ro-puu26

---

A few minutes passed by of everyone staring at each other, before the late jounin's voice finally floated to the three youngsters, "Meet me on the roof." With that, the silver-haired man disappeared in a flutter of leaves.

Under his breath, Naruto cursed the transportation technique that was often used by higher level ninjas.

---

When all had arrived at the top of the school, their future teacher stood there waiting.

The older male said, "Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams. Pinkie, you go first."

Sakura bristled at the insult, but smiled sweetly, "Why don't you go first, sensei, so we have an idea of what to say?"

A sigh escaped his lips, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes are none of your business. Hobbies… And dreams for the future, well, I'm not so sure about that."

The three-man team sweatdropped at Kakashi's introduction.

_So the only thing we really got to know about him was his name._ This thought went through all of their heads. Sakura and Naruto twitched, while Sasuke tried to control himself, but also ended up twitching too.

"If you would, pinkie."

"My name is Haruno Sakura, and I like…" A pause came and she shyly glanced at the Uchiha, blushing, "I dislike… Ino-pig, Naruto, and being called 'pinkie!' As for my hobbies, I like to read, study, and…" Yet another glance towards the Uchiha.

_It seems that girls this age are more interested in love than in being a ninja._ The silver-haired jounin mused.

"And my dream is…" Sakura blushed profusely at this point and made a small squealing sound.

The jounin nodded and pointed out for Sasuke to start his introduction. Sasuke, being his stoic self, monotonously began, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like very few things and dislike many. I train in my spare time. My dream… couldn't really be considered a dream - more of an ambition. My ambition is to kill a certain man."

The pink-haired kunoichi exclaimed enthusiastically, "Sasuke-kun is so cool!" The blonde shinobi to the Uchiha's left snorted and mumbled something under his breath about "how loud girls were."

_I should've expected as much, an avenger. _The Hatake sighed, inwardly, and awaited the last introduction.

A big grin presented itself upon the blonde's face, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen and to train. I dislike the three minutes it takes to make ramen, people who call me short, _perverts_, and screeching banshees."

The silver-haired male noticed the stressed note when Naruto said, "perverts." _Uh-oh._

"My dream is to become strong enough to protect my precious people, few as they are. I would also like to be respected by others." The blue-eyed boy finished, while Kakashi silently wondered who the Naruto's precious people were exactly. Sasuke stared at the blonde sitting next to him, many questions going through his head.

_You would think that a loud mouth like him would want to be the Hokage or something… I guess not._ Kakashi nearly frowned. _What is he hiding?_

"Alright, now that introductions are done, I must proceed to tell you about the **_real_** Genin exam," Kakashi began.

Before he could even complete his sentence, the pink-haired nuisance interrupted, yet _again_, "What?! Kakashi-sensei, we already passed the Genin exam at the Academy! Aren't we already Genins?"

The jounin's eye curved up into a crescent moon while saying, "That was only to weed out the weak who didn't even have a chance to pass the real exam."

Sakura gasped and began spouting some kind of nonsense from her mouth, until Kakashi spoke again, "Which, by the way, only has a third of a chance of passing. Out of 27 students who graduated from the Academy, only nine students will _actually_ pass."

"NOOO!!" Sakura screeched, "TRUE LOVE MUST PREVAIL!!"

Carefully, Naruto plugged his sensitive ears from the horrible shrieking. He looked up at the heavens and dramatically exclaimed, "Oh, the horror! Thou must pity me…"

Sasuke just look in shock at the loud volume of screeching, coming from right next to him. Then he heard the dead last radically praying to the sky; it was then that he raised an eyebrow.

_I bet this test is about teamwork. Why else would we be put on 3-man teams?_ Naruto analysed the situation critically.

"Well, meet me at 6AM in Training ground 7." Kakashi mused, before adding, "And don't eat breakfast!"

Sakura inquired, as usual, "What? Why?"

Smiling again, "You don't want to throw up, do you?" With that, the silver-haired jounin disappeared in a "poof" of smoke.

Immediately brightening up the atmosphere, the green-eyed kunoichi pranced around the Uchiha, "Sasuke-kun, would you like to eat lunch with me?"

A flat "no" came from the dark haired genin, while starting to walk away from Team 7's temporary meeting place. Naruto shook his head, and walked in the opposite direction; towards the railing.

Sakura noticed and asked, with a little sense of déjà vu, "Baka, what are you doing?"

Turning his head slightly and beaming widely, Naruto didn't say anything, but simply jumped off of the building. The pink haired girl screamed and ran towards the railing, temporarily forgetting about her precious Sasuke-kun.

_Even if he's a ninja, he won't make it! This building is three stories high!_ Sakura inwardly exclaimed. She didn't like the blonde, but she wouldn't like to know that he committed suicide in front of her.

"What in the world…?" Sasuke simply stared at the situation in confusion.

"BAKA!!" The poor birds within a ten mile radius all scattered from their perches on trees. Sakura pummelled the blonde boy several… million times for pulling yet _another_ prank. Apparently, Naruto had jumped off the building and somehow stuck on the side of the Academy. As soon as the violent female came into view, he scared her.

"Fufufu, the loveliness of pranks." Naruto chuckled as he was being hit by his fellow team member.

Something along the lines of "_Who'd like her after seeing her violent side?"_ was a common question among her classmates. After a successful practical joke, the three headed home doing their usual routine (i.e. Sakura asking Sasuke for a date).

---

The next morning arrived quickly, and soon it was time for their survival exercise with their jounin sensei. Sakura was the first to appear at the clearing where three tree stumps stood. She had arrived five minutes early, already the teacher's pet. Her crush turned up several minutes later, while the blonde ninja was not in sight. Silently, they awaited the arrival of their other team mate and teacher, except after ten minutes of waiting, the kunoichi resumed her chirpier courtship.

---

Naruto yawned, stretching his arms wide into the air. He glanced at the clock, which stated that it was only 7:55 AM. Deciding their was still a lot of time to dress, get some food into his stomach, and arrive a few minutes before Kakashi, Naruto sluggishly got of bed. When he had arrived home last night, their was a small note on his kitchen table from his surrogate brother.

_Naruto-kun,  
__Kakashi-san is usually late. At least two to three hours._

He instantly recognized this handwriting as Itachi's, even though he did not sign it so. The blonde had also been notified that significant, little detail by the Hokage.

"Ahh… I guess I should get going."

---

Two and a half hours later, Sakura was getting sick of waiting. After all, who wouldn't after nearly _three, whole hours_ of waiting?! The pink-haired girl was struggling to control herself and her crazy conscience, but she was going to explode soon.

"Argh… _Where are they_?" Sakura stressed through clenched teeth. The girl was hungry, angry, and impatient. If no one arrived soon, she swore she would kill someone.

About five seconds later, Naruto entered the clearing. Instantly, Sakura directed her anger towards the blonde, but he was unfazed.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" The green-eyed kunoichi screeched. Yet again, she proceeded to pound the living daylights out of the not-so-late-but-not-too-early male.

The orange-clad boy simply smiled, before answering her demanding question, "I heard a tiny, helpful tip from someone that the Legendary Kakashi… is legendary for his lateness."

A loud scream of irritation sounded throughout, not just the forest, but all of Konoha. Konoha was H-U-G-E, by the way. Everyone jumped at the voice and hastily covered their ears.

Another thirty minutes passed by prior the silver-haired adult popped in with a "Yo."

"Adults are so irresponsible," Naruto muttered, while rolling his eyes.

"YOU'RE LATE!" was the reply from a certain loudmouth. Silence was Sasuke's response.

"Ah, sorry, I was on my way to the training grounds, but a black cat appeared out of nowhere. So, I had to find a way around it--"

"IT TOOK YOU THREE HOURS TO GET AROUND A MANGY CAT?!" Boy, she sure likes yelling a lot. Or maybe she likes her lines all capitalized…

"Anyway… You'll have until noon to get these," Kakashi began while pulling out two, golden bells and an alarm clock from his pocket, "From me. If you don't get a bell before noon, you fail. One of you will be tied to a tree stump, if you don't succeed, and watch the rest of us eat our lunches."

For the first time since yesterday, Sasuke spoke, well, cursed, "No wonder he didn't want us to eat anything. Damn it."

_It's alright, I'm already on a diet anyways. _Sakura sighed. The blonde sitting next to hear only grinned again. This seriously pissed off the green-eyed female, _Why is he always so happy?_

"You'll have to come at me with the intent to kill and use every trick you have or else you won't succeed," Before the jounin could go any further, he was yet again interrupted.

"But, sensei, isn't that dangerous?" Sakura questioned. Inside her head, Inner Sakura thought, _'Ha, he couldn't even dodge a chalkboard eraser!'_

"Stop questioning my actions and instructions. You may begin." As soon as the word, 'begin,' had left his clothed mouth, the three ninjas disappeared. Or at least what he thought all three had done.

_It's good that they know how to properly conceal themselves. _Kakashi's train of thought trailed off as he saw what was really happening.

When the dust cleared, there stood Naruto, still beaming at his sensei. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes in a slight dangerous manner and got into a fighting position. Kakashi reached into his kunai pouch and pulled out… an orange book, which caused Naruto's eyes to narrow even further.

"Didn't I say that I _hate_ perverts?" He drawled, "Maybe I didn't stress that point out enough."

Without any warning, Naruto charged at the higher ranked ninja with a kunai ready in his hand. Raising his hand to strike Kakashi, he stabbed the older male. Blood spurted out, and Sakura's eyes widened. She was about to call out from her hiding spot, but their sensei's body transformed into a log.

"Lesson number one: Taijutsu. Naruto, you really shouldn't leave your back to the opponent." Kakashi was crouched at the blonde's hip level, with the tiger seal ready. Sakura realized this hand symbol, Naruto was good as dead!

The one-eyed man yelled out, "Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique: A Thousand Years of Pain!" before ramming his index and middle fingers up the blue-eyed boy's gluteus maximus, a.k.a. his butt. His two team mates winced at the pain he should be feeling.

Everything was going as planned for Kakashi, until the Naruto that flew into the air popped out of existence. Three pairs of eyes widened at the sight.

"That was… a solid body…" Kakashi whispered, shocked, but quickly recovered, observing his surroundings. _It seems that this dead last, really _isn't_ a dead last. I need to find out how he knows such a high calibre jutsu. For crying out loud, that's a jounin-level technique!_

"An actual body for a clone? How is that possible?" Sasuke murmured, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

"Where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura gave up searching for the blonde and concentrated her attention on her crush.

---

Hiding himself near the pink-haired kunoichi, he snickered at their reactions. Once a prankster, always a prankster. He was about to go discuss a plan with Sakura, but she abruptly ran off in a random direction, apparently looking for the Uchiha.

With a sigh, he shook his head, saying, "Stupid, love-sick girls give a bad reputation to kunoichis everywhere."

---

While Sakura was wandering around looking for the dark-haired boy, she ran into Kakashi. Literally.

Looking up from the orange book still in his hands, he smiled, "Ah, Sakura, I was wondering when you would show up. Lesson number two: Genjutsu."

"Eyaaah!!!" With that, the girl fell limp, unconscious.

---

"I'm not like the others. I will get a bell from you." Well, that was his beginning statement, but now…

He was stuck in the earth. With nothing else but his head sticking out of the ground. Perfect.

---

Sakura awoke in the middle of the forest and began to roam around the lands. A moan of pain caught her attention. She quickly ran towards the sound of the person's voice, and when she got into a clearing, she instantly froze.

There, lying on the ground with blood spreading out below him, was Sasuke, with several kunais jutting out of his body. Scratches and gashes that continuously bleed littered his body.

"Sa-Sakura… H-help… m-me…" He called, pathetically reaching out for her.

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

---

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

"Hm… Did I go too far with the genjutsu?" Shrugging his shoulders, he finished with a lame, "Oh, well."

---

When the pink-haired kunoichi truly woke up from the genjutsu, she was sweating with fear. Carefully getting up, she stumbled upon Sasuke's severed head. Okay, no, she didn't - Sasuke was still alive, but buried from head down.

"S-Sasuke-kun, yo-your h-h-head's been s-segregated-d-d…" She managed to burble out before falling into a dead faint, once again.

"What the…?" Seeing as the lifeless girl wasn't going to help him, he began the slow and painful process of digging himself out.

---

As soon as Sakura finally came around and Sasuke had finished excavating himself out, a distant bell rang.

"Damn it." Then the two slowly headed back to the clearing.

---

Kakashi smiled and began explaining, "Well, it seems like none of you have gotten a bell--"

"Correction." A bell was suddenly flung at the jounin's head, however, Naruto was not able to receive any pleasure in seeing the jounin flunk out again.

_Another interruption - at least it's not from the same person this time around. _Kakashi's eye twitched slightly.

The silver-haired jounin cleared his throat, "It seems that only Naruto was successful in retrieving a bell."

"I don't want it. Give it to the banshee or the Uchiha." Naruto stated, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't care if I don't become a genin this time around. I'll still finish my goal."

"Let Sasuke-kun have it. He's the one who deserves it!" Sakura exclaimed, attempting to prove her dedication and love to her precious.

"I guess…" Two of three ninjas leaned in to hear his final decision, "Since you are so willing to give your team mates anything - you guys… PASS!"

Three, big grins broke out on the newly instated genins. Well, you can't really call Sasuke's "twitch of his lips upwards" a smile.

---

While he dismissed the two other team mates, Kakashi called out to the blonde genin. He wanted to have a talk with him.

"Naruto, where did you learn a jounin-level jutsu?" The one-eyed man inquired,.

Pausing in his gait, he slightly turned his head to look over his right shoulder, "Ask the Hokage."

---

After note: I would write all the battle scenes, but I suck at those. I'm attempting them for the first time, so don't be surprised if they suck.

Anyways, I have decided that this fic will be updated once a month, usually at the end of it. Thanks for everyone's patience and your contribution to my collection of lovely reviews! To those with questions, they will be answered in due time. I wouldn't be able to tell you because it'd spoil my story! I can't have that.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As for pairings, here are the current standings:

Yaoi category  
SasuNaru/NaruSasu: 13 votes  
ItaNaru: 9 votes  
NejiNaru: 3 votes  
GaaNaru/NaruGaa: 3 votes  
HakuNaru: 2 votes

Het category  
NaruSaku: 6 votes  
NaruIno: 4 votes  
NaruTenten: 2 votes  
ZabuHaku: 1 vote  
Other side pairings: 5 votes

**To** **Bobert-theinsaneninthgrader:** I am severely disappointed in you. Obviously, you have not even bothered to read my author notes at the end of each chapter. I have clearly stated that I will **_not_** write a **_NaruHina_** or **_SasuSaku_**. I will be having one-sided pairings for SasuSaku and NaruHina.

Random nonsense: People say that nothing is impossible. I guess they've never tried to slam a revolving door.

_Stay tuned for the next chapter -- Chapter 3: The Horrors of Being a Genin._

_And ku.ro-puu disappears in the flames of youth (sorry, couldn't help myself XD)!_


	4. Chapter 3: The Horrors of Being a Genin

Chapter 3: The Horrors of Being a Genin

By: ku.ro-puu26

---

Sasuke was pissed. No, he was beyond pissed. He couldn't make sense of the recent event - so many questions were circling around in his head. _How was a dunce like Naruto able to get a bell from a jounin, but I, the _Number One Rookie _of the year, not able to?_

His fist clenched, tightly, while narrowing his eyes a fraction. He would find out, one way or another.

---

"Hokage-sama," A voice called out from behind a closed door, after the person standing outside had knocked.

"Come in." The elderly man sighed and ushered the flustered jounin to sit down in front of him. "What's wrong, Kakashi?"

Kakashi stared at his superior for a second, before answering the Hokage's inquiry, "During the survival exercise for Team 7, Naruto performed a Kage Bunshin. Do you know where he learned this from?"

_I guess Itachi-kun must have taught it to Naruto-kun._ Sarutobi deducted, but said aloud, "I taught it to him."

"But Naruto was a transferee, how could he have learnt it from you?" Kakashi questioned, looking a little suspicious of the Hokage. "I am going to be Naruto's sensei, it's only fair for me to know a little more about him."

Finally giving in to Kakashi's reasoning, he heaved a sigh, and said, "What I'm about to say, stays in this room, alright?"

---

The next morning was slightly cloudy, but the sun was still able to peak it's way through the clouds. A small yawn erupted from a certain pink-haired girl as she stretched her arms upwards and sluggishly got off the bed. Yawning once again, she stumbled into the bathroom down the hallway and quickly took a shower, before heading off the training grounds.

---

He wasn't up early, in fact, this was the usual time that he got up. The Uchiha had to train in order to avenge his clan. Currently, however, he had exhausted himself and was lying down on the grass, sweating. The clearing he trained in was hard to find because of a possible attack on him by fan girls. Sasuke shivered at the thought of those freaks.

How did they become so obsessed?

---

From afar, Naruto observed his team mate, carefully masking his chakra, so that he wouldn't alert the other of his presence. The last Uchiha in Konoha was like a brother to him. After all, if Itachi was his substitute brother, and Itachi was Sasuke's brother, then shouldn't Sasuke be his too? Although Sasuke did not know of the blonde's connection with the other Sharingan user, Naruto felt as if it was to be his responsibility to look after him.

Sighing, he glanced one last time at the forest clearing and left for a walk.

---

It wasn't until eight o'clock that morning that everyone from Team 7 had arrived, with the silver haired jounin being the last, of course. Crinkling his eye into a crescent moon, Kakashi told his three subordinates that they were to start D-ranked missions.

Naturally, the newly established genins did not expect such lame, with a capital L, missions. Sasuke was itching for some kind of action, other than capturing scratchy cats, picking up garbage, and other ridiculous **_chores_** assigned to them by any villager who demanded help. Even Sakura was fed up with the number of absurd missions that they had to complete. Naruto did nothing, but complain about them.

One day, the three-man team had enough.

"Your next assignment is to capture--" The elderly man began, prior to being interrupted by a loudmouth - the least someone could do was somehow shut this girl's blabbering lips.

"No!" Sakura slammed her fist down on the Hokage's desk. "I will not stand for these stupid missions - they can't even be considered missions! Any ordinary citizen of Konoha could do these… these chores! We are ninja, shouldn't we be given something above the civilian level? That way I can prove my love for Sasuke-kun is genuine!"

"You know, jii-jii, the banshee brings up a good point." At this statement, two shouts of protest broke out from Sakura and another from Iruka. Iruka had no tolerance for those who did not respect Konoha's beloved Hokage… and Sakura simply didn't like being called her new nickname.

"Hn." A final nod from the Uchiha showed that the majority ruled over the Hokage.

Sarutobi sighed, "Very well. I will give you a C-ranked mission. Iruka, could you bring in Tazuna-san?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." With that, he disappeared from the room, only to emerge moments later.

"Team 7, this is your client, Tazuna-san. He is a bridge builder from the Country of the Wave. You will be escorting him back home."

Swigging a giant gulp of his liquor bottle, Team 7's customer began boasting, before noticing who his protectors were, "How in the world are these pipsqueaks supposed to defend me? Especially the blonde one?"

"'Pipsqueaks?'" Naruto and Sakura repeated slowly, who were extremely irritated by the way their eyebrow's were twitching furiously.

Before the two genins could jump at the elderly man, Kakashi placed a firm palm on their shoulders, "Now, now, I wouldn't look good on your report if you accidentally killed your client. I am a jounin, if my team is not capable of doing something, I will take over - you have no reason to worry."

So instead of killing their client, they settled for glaring - though Tazuna remained unfazed.

Sarutobi cleared his throat, "You will meet at the East Gate tomorrow at 6 AM; no lateness will be tolerated, understood?" As he said the last part, his eyes swiftly travelled over to the silver-haired jounin, who had once again stuck his nose in that perverted book of his. Again, the blonde's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"I hate perverts." He mumbled under his breath, only meant for himself, but Kakashi caught it.

---

Surprisingly, the next morning, no one was late, including Kakashi. I guess the Hokage had some blackmail material… Sakura continuously hung onto Sasuke's arm, as usual, and Naruto chattered energetically next to her. Kakashi was frequently wary of the blonde with new information he been armed with by the Hokage.

_Finally giving in to Kakashi's reasoning, he heaved a sigh, and said, "What I'm about to say, stays in this room, alright?"_

_After gaining eager agreement from the silver-haired jounin, the Hokage proceeded with his knowledge of the situation, "Naruto-kun left with Itachi-kun when he was 8 years of age. Naruto-kun is indeed a citizen of Konoha. You probably won't remember, but he is the Kyuubi's container."_

"_Uchiha Itachi? And didn't the Kyuubi's vessel die?" Kakashi looked confused._

_The elderly man shook his head at the other male's questions, before replying, "Yes, I am talking about Sasuke's older brother. I was forced to erase the entire villages' memories, which includes you and his peers at the Academy of the time. I believe you remember the night of the Uchiha clan massacre, correct?"_

_The jounin stared in disbelief - who couldn't remember that night? Sarutobi dismissed his look of utter scepticism and merely continued, "That night, Uchiha Itachi was not the one who murdered the entire clan, but Orochimaru. Also on that night, Naruto-kun was attacked by a group of drunken villagers. I found him on the streets and brought him back to my office. That was when Itachi-kun came in. I sent him on an S-Class mission to spy on the secret organization made up of the most powerful missing-nins - Akatsuki. I was then obligated to label him as a S-Class missing-nin in order for him to infiltrate it. Of course, Naruto refused to stay if his surrogate brother was leaving, and thus, our story time comes to a conclusion."_

"_And the Akatsuki let Naruto join as well?" Kakashi wondered aloud, rubbing his chin thoughtfully._

"_Itachi-kun told them that Naruto-kun was his pupil." The highest-ranked ninja smiled at the thought of how clingy the Uzumaki was at the time._

It was certainly an interesting story; now the jounin knew more about one of his students, even though it was not directly from the boy.

---

It was probably some time around noon, that the group of five passed by two small puddles by the shade of the trees. Sakura, Tazuna, Sasuke, and Naruto paid no heed to the warnings, but Kakashi knew something was fishy. The silver-haired jounin pretended he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, although it was obvious.

It hadn't rained for days, and yet there sitting on the edge of the road was a water puddle. How odd.

Suddenly, spiky chains wrapped around the jounin, who appeared shocked from the abrupt ambush, before his body was sliced into many different pieces. Blood splattered everywhere and the attackers moved onto their next target, Naruto.

They threw a kunai with some kind of clear liquid on the tip that was barely visible, which grazed the Uzumaki's fist. The boy was clearly shaking, his fist clenched tightly, and when his eyes peeked through his bangs… what Kakashi saw in the trees scared him. A killer's eyes; emotionless and deadly. That was before his cerulean eyes widened in surprise as two Mist ninjas jumped out from the cover of the trees. One of them charged at the immobile blonde, while the other one tried to take care of the Uchiha.

It was at that moment that the perverted male interfered in the battle. Sakura was at a loss, until she realized that her sensei had used a Kawarimi to escape.

Sasuke blocked the Mist ninja's weapons and kicked him right in the chest, before performing his favorite jutsu, Katon: Housenka no Jutsu.

"Good job, Sasuke. Sorry, I was late, Naruto. I didn't think you'd freeze up like that." Kakashi complimented the dark-haired teenager, after he had finished tying up the two Mist missing-nins. Kakashi wasn't sure if the blonde wanted to make himself look stupid or not. It was hard to tell with someone who had a teacher like Itachi.

"I guess we should head back to Konoha… that kunai Naruto was struck with was poisonous and needs medical attention immediately."

Naruto hissed under his breath before drawing his kunai, "I am not returning just yet. I swear an oath on this wound/kunai to complete this mission!" After finishing his exclamation, he stabbed his own hand; blood seeping through his fingers.

"That's great, Naruto, but now… you'll die from blood loss." The silver-haired jounin mused, thoughtfully. He couldn't help but to laugh inside at his student's reaction - how cute.

"WHAT!!!" Naruto yelled, flinging his arms desperately. Kakashi took a quick look at the wound, seeing that it was already healing from the Kyuubi's powers, and bandaged it.

"But, right now, I believe we have a client, who has much to tell us…" The older ninja turned to their patron with a serious face.

"Well… you see," Tazuna began, slightly fumbling over his words, "As you know, I'm a bridge builder for the Country of the Wave, which is a poor country near the Hidden Village of Mist. Our country has been taken over by a wealthy businessman, named Gatou. He controls everything coming in and coming out of the country. That's why we need this bridge - in order for our country to prosper. So, please, finish this mission?"

"This will be considered a B-ranked mission now, what do you guys think? Can you handle it?" The three nodded eagerly. Sasuke wanted to prove to himself that he was getting stronger and then he could finally kill his brother. Sakura simply wished that her dream guy would save her; the classic "damsel in distress." Naruto, however, didn't care, on the inside anyway.

---

Some time after Team 7 had heard Tazuna's sob story, and decided to continue the mission, no matter what, everything became normal once more.

"Sasuke-kun is sooo cool! He didn't _freeze up_ or anything; how brave and masculine!" The rabid fan girl swooned, stressing the phrase, 'freeze up,' attempting to spite Naruto.

"Heh, scaredy cat, you can take a bell from a _jounin_, but you can't even defend yourself against _one, measly _Chuunin. I guess you're not ready for the battlefield, yet, are you dobe?" Giving an triumphant smirk, Sasuke gave one last look back at the blonde who was staring at him with blank eyes.

Suddenly, a similar smirk appeared on Naruto's face, "Think what you want, Uchiha," was the only thing the blue-eyed genin said before he brushed past, following the rest of Team 7. Something that did not go unnoticed by the fair-skinned boy was an odd twinkle of… excitement in his eyes? Or was it mischievousness? Sasuke couldn't be sure of what he saw. That glint had been there one second and gone the next.

His new team mate seemed to be hiding something, and he was going to find out.

---

After note: I'm done!! And it's my birthday! ;D Give me lots of reviews for a birthday present! D You know you want tooo… XD Hope you enjoyed this. I actually had this chapter finished on the 25th, but... screwed me up, so I'm posting it now. Sorry, guys.

I know that some of the events are mixed up, but this is my story, alright?

I also noticed that I accidentally put ZabuHaku pairing under the het category, it's supposed to go under the yaoi!

Here are the pairings:

Yaoi category

SasuNaru/NaruSasu: 19 votes  
ItaNaru: 23 votes  
NejiNaru: 3 votes  
GaaNaru: 3 votes  
HakuNaru: 2 votes  
ZabuHaku: 4 votes  
KakaNaru: 1 vote

Het category  
NaruSaku: 9 votes  
NaruIno: 4 votes  
NaruTenten: 3 votes  
InoNaruGaara: 1 vote  
Other: 6 votes

Jay-chan: I will certainly consider your idea. Thanks a lot. InoNaruGaara? Wow, I never considered something like that…

Random quote: "Life is full of mysteries. If you're always trying to solve them, you won't have time for anything else."

_Stay tuned for the next chapter -- Chapter 3: The Horrors of Being a Genin._

_And ku.ro-puu disappears in the flames of youth (sorry, couldn't help myself XD)!_


	5. Chapter 4: The History behind the Story

Chapter 4: The History behind the Story

By: ku.ro-puu26

---

"The beautiful moon emits such a soft light  
It's such a shame that you only come out at night  
Your light gently caresses my skin  
Whenever I look at you, it feels as if I've committed many sins.

You just seem so innocent in my eyes  
I'm so envious, so much that I could almost cry  
You attract practically everyone's gaze  
Even if something horrible happens under your watch, you remain unfazed.

How I wish I could be as impassive as you are  
My body is littered with too many tears and scars  
I'm always trying to reach your altitude  
And even though I act like a fool that is not my genuine attitude.

It's weird how much you are like the moon,  
Sometimes I can't believe that you would want someone like me…" - By ku.ro-puu26

---

As far as he could remember, he was always alone. He was always receiving glares for reasons he did not know of. After all, how would one so young know of the horrors of the world around him? He was only a total of five years old - an innocent.

He was a deprived child, but not of food or any of the physical necessities. He never had the chance to feel any of the wonderful human emotions, such as happiness and love. For as long as he had lived, he had only felt fear, anger, and sadness. Even though he was always hyperactive, joyful, loud, always smiling on the surface, he was actually hurting underneath.

---

The boy had met the Uchiha heir while he was training in the middle of the many forests within Konoha. Naruto was captivated at the gracefulness and accuracy of the Uchiha. Pouting slightly, he wished he could have someone who trained him to be as good as that black haired teenager.

As he turned to leave, the elder ninja spun around and coldly asked, "What are you doing here?"

Naruto almost wanted to cower in some dark corner at the tone of his voice, fortunately, he was quite used to it.

"A-ah… I…" The blue-eyed boy attempted to speak, but it came out as a stutter. As the other ninja opened his mouth, Naruto's eyes widened and covered his head with his arms, as if to shield himself from danger. The Uchiha's eyes lost its cold, sharp edge at seeing the vunerable position the boy was in.

"You're an orphan, aren't you?" There was a surprising, small hint of sympathy in the older male's voice. Not knowing how to reply, he simply nodded. Heaving a sigh as he raked his fingers through his long black hair, he ushered the other boy to come closer. Naruto shook his head feverishly; he was afraid the other boy would try to hurt him.

"It's alright, I won't hurt you." The last four words perked Naruto's ears up - no one had ever said that to him, other than the Hokage. "I'm Uchiha Itachi."

Shyly smiling, while slightly blushing, the young blonde introduced himself, "Uzumaki Naruto!"

---

He never understood why the adults of the village hated him, until his onii-san had told him. He would never find out until three years later, when he and Itachi had left Konoha for a certain amount of time.

The Hokage had stated that since he had already entered the Academy at that time, the elderly man was obligated to block his classmates' memory, which also included the Academy teachers as well. The villagers, however, weren't as easy. There were too many people to subdue memories of the blond boy. Since none of the villagers even bothered to find out the "demon brat's" name, he could make one up and tell them that the Kyuubi's container had died or been killed.

---

Naruto quickly rushed through the door of his apartment and packed only the necessities in his small backpack. His surrogate brother was waiting for him right outside. They had already come up with a plan to make sure that Naruto wasn't seen as well. Naruto transformed into a kunai and the Uchiha picked it up and placed the weapon in his pocket.

With nothing else in this village to do, Itachi sped towards the East Gate of the Konoha wall. When he arrived there, he crept up the wall and snuck over the guards' heads. The night was still young and the guards were slightly sleepy.

The two companions only started slowing down once they were a fair distance away from the Hidden Village.

"You can come out now, Naruto-kun." Itachi said as he opened his weapon pouch and took out kunai-Naruto. A small "poof" was heard and there stood his friend of 3 years.

"Itachi-nii, where are we going to go now?" Naruto inquired, tilting his head to the side.

"…" The raven haired male didn't say anything for a while, before he looked up at the sky and said, "To the Earth Country."

---

After note: I know it's short, but it's not really a chapter! Think of this as more of filler. My Christmas break is coming up, but that also means that I have exams after! I'll try to get one more chapter in before my break is over, but don't be disappointed if I don't. I can't guarantee anything because I also have a lot of homework over the break.

TigerCat: XD Bwaha, I loved your review.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review… and pairings vote is still going! Here are the current standings:

Yaoi Category  
SasuNaru/NaruSasu: 25 votes  
ItaNaru: 37 votes  
NejiNaru: 3 votes  
GaaNaru: 5 votes  
HakuNaru: 2 votes  
ZabuHaku: 4 votes  
KakaNaru: 1 vote  
ItaNaruKaka: 1 vote

Het category  
NaruSaku: 9 votes  
NaruIno: 6 votes  
NaruTenten: 3 votes  
InoNaruGaara: 2 votes  
Other: 6 votes

Random quote: "I haven't failed a thousand times; I just have found a thousand ways that don't work."

_Stay tuned for the next chapter -- Chapter 5: Country of the Wave_

_And ku.ro-puu disappears in the flames of youth (sorry, couldn't help myself XD)!_


	6. Chapter 5: The Wave Country

Chapter 5: The Wave Country  
By: ku.ro-puu26

---

Sasuke's frown was apparent on his face. He kept glancing out of his peripheral vision at his blonde team mate, who was currently skipping in front of Sakura. Why was that idiot always so darn happy?

Suddenly, Naruto opened his mouth and out came, "Eh, Sakura-chan, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Sakura shrieked and turned to the blue-eyed boy, looking furious at the question. Not to mention the new prefix and her actual name. "WHAT?! WHO'D WANT TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU, MORON?!"

"Maa, maa, that's not very nice, Sakura." Kakashi scolded. The pink-haired female blushed, ashamed and was about to reply to that statement, but Kakashi abruptly shouted, "EVERYONE DUCK!"

Fortunately, everybody seemed to hear the warning in time and dodged a large sword that was flying in the air like a boomerang. The sword whizzed through the air before it wedged itself into a big oak tree.

A man with bandages wrapped around the lower part of his face jumped down from the tree and grabbed his sword out with ease. His ninja headband was slashed horizontally, showing that he was a missing-nin. "Looks like I have the pleasure of meeting the Legendary Copy-Cat Nin."

The bindings over his mouth shifted slightly upwards, which showed that a cocky smirk had appeared on his face.

"Momochi Zabuza, correct? An A-class missing nin, bordering S-class… I guess you're here to kill Tazuna-san?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes, looking at his team of genins through the corner of his eyes. "Protect Tazuna-san!"

A chorus of "hai" rang throughout the clearing as Team 7 moved around the bridge builder in a triangle formation. Meanwhile, Kakashi lifted his ninja headband to reveal his usually hidden eye and took on Zabuza.

"Such an honor to see the Sharingan the first time we meet, Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi. A ninja who has copied over one thousand jutsu." Zabuza commented and the last loyal Uchiha stood in shock at hearing news of another Sharingan user that _wasn__'__t_ an Uchiha. How could it have happened? Was it even possible? While Sasuke was pondering over this issue, Zabuza jumped onto the lake behind him, and shouted, "Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

Heavy mist flooded into the surroundings. Kakashi, who was standing in front of them only mere moments ago, was now nowhere to be seen. As Zabuza spoke, you could almost hear the smirk in his voice, "There are eight vital points on the human body. Liver, lungs, kidneys, spinal cord, jugular vein, carotid artery, brain, and heart. Which one should I choose?"

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto shuddered at the killer intent that was released from the missing-nin. Sasuke's eyes widened even further as their teacher freed his own.

_This power… Is this what a jounin battle feels like?_ Sasuke asked himself. _It__'__s suffocating me; it feels as if I__'__m going to die… I can__'__t take it anymore!_

Sasuke's hand slowly creeped its way to his kunai pouch. Kakashi saw this out of the corner of his eyes - the only reason he could was because of his single-eyed Sharingan.

"Sasuke." His voice snapped said boy out of his mental conversation and stare at where his sensei used to be standing, "I will protect you guys. Don't worry, I won't let you die."

At this sentence of comfort, Sasuke strengthened his resolve. In his peripheral vision, the Uchiha swore he saw his idiot of a team mate shoot him a smirk. _Wasn__'__t Naruto affected like myself? He doesn__'__t look shaken up at all._

Another jutsu emerged from Zabuza's mouth, "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Seemingly out of the ground, an entire group of clones appeared around the young genin as Zabuza performed a few hand seals.

_Mizu bunshin… A clone that is capable of attacking and has one-tenth of the original__'__s power. This will be interesting to see how Sasuke handles this situation._ Naruto thought to himself. He easily recognized the technique after all his traveling with his sensei and friend.

Sasuke quickly grabbed a kunai from his weapon pouch and held it in front of him in an offensive stance. Naruto and Sakura mimicked his movements – Sakura trembling slightly. Without warning, all five of the clones charged at Team 7.

The Uchiha took action immediately, by cutting all five in one go. Naruto couldn't help but mutter, "Show off."

The dark haired teenager glanced over his shoulder giving a small smirk of triumph. The same jutsu was said again, and the three genin prepared for another attack on the bridge builder, but none came. Instead the clone appeared behind Kakashi, who they could now see, as the mist had lifted slightly.

"Kakashi-sensei, behind you!" The pink-haired girl screamed out in warning, but the bunshin had already sliced its sword through the silver-haired male's body. Sakura stared on in horror, before she noticed that the Konoha jounin had turned into puddle of water.

Zabuza's eyes held a look of disbelief, _He saw the hand seals through the mist?_ Kakashi cut the Mist ninja's throat from behind, who turned once again into water. This charade continued on for quite awhile, until the real Kakashi appeared and leapt to engage battle with Zabuza as well.

Naruto's eyes danced in excitement of seeing the jounin battle between two strong opponents. He hadn't seen a good battle in quite a while as he was stuck indoors to organize himself for his first solo mission.

Kakashi narrowly avoided getting divided into two by jumping into the lake - a foolish mistake. Zabuza had began chasing after him, but abruptly stopped at the edge of the lake.

"A tricky man, he is." The bandaged man muttered under his breath, spotting the makibishi scattered on the ground, "But not nearly enough. Jumping into a lake while facing a Mist ninja? How irrational."

Deciding not dwell on what idiotic actions that the silver-haired jounin made, he thought of the perfect jutsu to end this battle. Kakashi had run out of air, but as he came up, he found that he was trapped in a large water sphere. Zabuza had appeared behind him, shouting, "Suirou no Justu!" and captured him; Kakashi cursed at the change of circumstances.

The enemy jounin leered underneath his bandages and turned to face the frightened genin, "Look at you, wearing hitai-ate and acting like real ninja. A ninja is someone who has been able to survive many brushes with death. What do you know of death?"

Zabuza certainly didn't expect the blonde genin of all people to sneer right back at him. The tone of his voice was eerily calm when he spoke, "And I suppose you understand that concept quite clearly, don't you? The Demon of the Mist…" He trailed off, while his eyes slowly bled into crimson.

_What the hell..?_ Both Kakashi and Zabuza were in shock at hearing that Naruto knew of the story behind this missing-nin and that his eyes were turning red.

"In Kirigakure, the genin exam used to be a battle to death with those you had known, eaten with, trained with." The other two genin on his team stared at the one who was currently speaking in doubt. Said person simply ignored them and continued on, "Several years ago, there was one boy, not even a ninja at that point, who slaughtered the entire graduating class, without a single thread of remorse for them. It was then that the Kiri changed the exam."

"Baka, stop sprouting lies!" Sakura shouted, raising her fist to pound the blonde's head into the ground for getting them worked up.

"Sakura, he is telling the truth." Kakashi said from inside the water sphere that he was still trapped in. All their uncertainties immediately vanished from their heads as Kakashi stated this, but one question still remained, _How does Naruto know of this?_

The old genin exam of Kiri wasn't common knowledge, so to find out that a genin, who was wet behind the ears, knew of it was quite a shock to anyone.

"So, boy, how is it you know of this… story?" Zabuza voiced the query that everyone was asking, unknowingly.

"That's a se-cre-t." The once blue-eyed boy replied, giving a seemingly innocent smile. He felt several glares directed in his direction, but he was used to receiving those.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he realized that he was still imprisoned, "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke! You need to run away and protect Tazuna-san! You're no match for Zabuza and as long as he has me captured, he can't move anywhere."

"No." Naruto firmly pronounced, "I refuse to run away from a fight."

The Uchiha nodded his head to agree with Naruto, and seeing that her beloved Sasuke-kun wanted to stay, the green-eyed girl decided to continue on as well.

"GO!" Kakashi yelled, frustrated with his underlings, "The mission comes first, remember that!"

The demon container shook his head, "Wasn't it you, Kakashi-sensei, who said, 'those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who don't care for their team mates are lower than scum?'"

The silver haired jounin's eyes widened and gave a slight smile underneath his mask.

Sasuke, determined to rescue their sensei, charged at the water clone that was standing in front of the original. He took out several shuriken and kunai and threw them rapidly at the clone. The bunshin swiped the projectiles away with his sword, but by the time he was finished, Sasuke had disappeared from his view. Looking up, he saw said Uchiha with his fists raised above his head, ready to attack the clone.

Alas, Sasuke's hands were caught and he was thrown aside.

"Sasuke-kun!" The pink haired kunoichi screamed; she was clearly shaking from fear. Naruto glanced over at his fallen comrade, but did nothing else. The blonde formed hand seals for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and a numerous amount of shadow clones appeared around the missing-nin.

_Kage Bunshin… and a large number of them… Who is this brat?_ Zabuza questioned himself. Everyone was expecting with such a large amount of clones, one would dog pile the man, but instead, a few of them disappeared and a couple charged in. As the two Kage Bunshin closed in on their target, an abundant of kunai aimed to kill the bandaged man as well. However, the clone managed to dodge all of the projectiles. Naruto seemed unfazed by that fact though.

"Fuiton: Kaze no Yaiba." Naruto said calmly. Zabuza's clone gave a wide smirk, ready to take on the jutsu, but his eyes widened as he noticed that the real objective was not him but the original. The jutsu sailed past and Zabuza was forced to jerk away from the water prison that was holding Kakashi or be sliced up into tiny bits of flesh.

Sasuke gritted his teeth together, seeing that once again that dead-last had outsmarted him, **the Rookie of the Year**. _Where did he learn that jutsu? It's powerful too. I need that same power to kill him. _The Uchiha was fuming inwardly as he thought about his murderer of a brother.

The water splashed around Kakashi as he fell into the lake, but quickly regained his composure. Zabuza looked livid as well, "You damn brat!"

His sword was in position to attack and began charging at the demon container, but their jounin sensei stopped the man before he could go any further with a kunai.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed from a safe distance away from the battle. Their client looked surprised for a moment.

"That was a strong jutsu, Naruto, and good thinking on your part." Kakashi looked absolutely serious now, a contrast from what they usually saw.

All of a sudden, the Mist ninja gave a scoff and brushed off his successfully completed attack as mere luck, "Heh, I lost my focus for one second and cancelled the jutsu."

Kakashi almost glared at the man he was fighting, "You didn't cancel it, you were forced to. Just let me tell you something; I won't fall for the same jutsu twice."

A tense silence reigned over the foggy area, before Kakashi's voice rang out once more, "So what are you going to do now?"

Zabuza gave a low growl from his throat, frustrated with this conflict. It was getting to the point where it could be considered annoying. He pushed harder against Kakashi's kunai and jumped away, while the silver haired male did the same. He began forming a long set of hand seals. Kakashi's Sharingan eye widened as he recognized what jutsu he was performing.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" exclaimed both jounin at the same time.

---

After note: Hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to make a slightly longer chapter because you've patiently waited for me, but I hit a writer's block. Sorry for the huge delay in updates; I had a hard semester, loaded with projects, presentations, exams, etc. I finally have the chance to write now! ;;

_Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu _- Water Clone Skill  
_Makibishi_ - Throwing nails  
_Suirou no Jutsu _- Water Prison Skill  
_Fuiton: Kaze no Yaiba _- Wind Element: Wind Blade  
_Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu _- Water Element: Water Dragon Blast

**I****'****ve decided that the pairings vote will be ending next chapter.** If what you want isn't it is, review and vote for the pairings! Though I am doing a poll for pairings, I probably won't be introducing it until **much later. ** I want to characters to develop. :D The poll stands at:

Yaoi Category  
SasuNaru/NaruSasu: 31 votes  
ItaNaru: 50 votes  
NejiNaru: 4 votes  
GaaNaru: 7 votes  
HakuNaru: 2 votes  
ZabuHaku: 4 votes  
KakaNaru: 1 vote  
ItaNaruKaka: 3 votes

Het category  
NaruSaku: 9 votes  
NaruIno: 6 votes  
NaruTenten: 3 votes  
InoNaruGaara: 2 votes  
NaruTemari: 1 vote  
Other: 6 votes

Also, I need your opinion on these three topics:

1. Should Naruto have a bloodline? If yes, give me some suggestions.  
2. Should Team 7 find out Naruto's secret in the Chuunin exams?  
3. Should Gaara know Naruto?

Thank you to all my reviewers! (OMG, 188?! And almost 20k hits?!)


	7. Chapter 6: A Close Encounter

Chapter 6: A Close Encounter  
By: ku.ro-puu26

--

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" exclaimed both jounin at the same time.

A large column of water slowly rose from the space between both ninjas. The water formed the bodies of a dragon and they circled each other until one of them decided to attack. The dragon made of water burst and ruptured the peace of the lake.

Sakura screamed as she saw the incoming wave and covered her face, as did the rest of the group behind her. As soon as they became aware of what had just happened, the two jounins were already engaged in another battle of weapons.

Zabuza grunted in the exertion of holding his blade against the Sharingan wielder's kunai. Water that was returning back to the lake formed a beautiful cage around the two warriors. They both pushed back on the lake's surface, still watching the other.

Everyone gasped as Kakashi mirrored every motion the missing-nin was making with perfection.

_Is he reading my mind..? Impossible!_ Zabuza thought with a hint of fear.

_Ahh, the wonders of the Kekkai Genkai, Sharingan. It almost seems like Kakashi can read what Zabuza is doing before he even does it._ Naruto gave a small shake of his head in hopes of trying to dry his wet hair. Sakura was kneeling beside Tazuna, helping him sit up.

Sasuke looked at the battle in awe, _Is this the true power of the Sharingan?_

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" The Copy Cat Ninja exclaimed, as Zabuza froze in shock of hearing the jutsu he was about to perform being called out.

The Mist ninja was ensnared in the water vortex that Kakashi created and he slammed against several trees in the region.

Naruto glanced upwards, eying the newcomer - there was something suspicious about the figure, despite the fact that the person was a hunter-nin. Then, he recognized that long, brown hair that was put into a bun.

_Haku..!_ Naruto was surprised to see one of the friends he had made along his travels with Itachi here. With everyone intent on watching the battle, he sneaked upwards to the brunette.

"Haku-kun." Naruto whispered, giving a faint smile. The other orphan was wearing a mask, but did not seem surprised to see Naruto's presence behind him.

"Naruto-kun. It's been a while since we last met." Haku acknowledged. He was glad to see that Naruto was alive and kicking. "Still short as usual, I see."

The blonde's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't explode at the comment like he usually would, in fear of alerting the others of his absence. That was probably the only thing someone could say to get such a loud exclaimation from him now. "Still as feminine as usual, Haku." Naruto countered, pleased to see that his friend's hand twitched, itching to grab a senbon.

"Time for me to appear. We'll see each other soon, Naruto-kun." As Haku spoke these words, he threw several needles, pinning the missing ninja to the trunk of a tree; two of them lodging into the back of his neck. No one had noticed the disappearance of him and he silently slipped back into place, to watch the scene.

"Thank you, I have been hunting him for a while, but he always seems to slip from my grasp." The masked shinobi grabbed Zabuza's body down from the tree, checking his pulse, before slinging it over his shoulder.

_This person is our age! How did he get so strong?_ As normal, Sasuke's mind was once again set on revenge and obtaining power.

"I will be taking my leave now. Thank you for your help again." Haku gave a smirk from underneath his mask and vanished.

Kakashi looked suspicious for a split second before he collapsed.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled, concerned. Naruto was already by his side and telling his teammates to help him carry their jounin teacher. The pink haired genin rushed over.

Tazuna explained that the Country of the Wave was only a little ways away at this point and that they could take Kakashi there to rest.

--

Kakashi blinked, slowly coming to. Almost immediately, he was bombared with questions from the pink-haired genin under his tutelage.

"Kakashi-sensei, how are you feeling? Can you move? Do you want anything to eat or drink? Do you know how frightened we were when you collapsed?" Sakura rambled, before Sasuke sent her one of his glares that made her clam up.

"Ah, I'm alright… but I don't think I'll be able to walk properly for a week." Kakashi didn't even bother to acknowledge her other inquiries. He took a good look around the room only to find one of his students missing. "Where's Naruto?"

"Oh, that baka is doing some grocery shopping with Tsunami-san. They seem to know each other." Sakura answered.

"They do?" Kakashi looked confused, then he remembered what the Hokage had told him several days prior.

"_What I__'__m about to say, stays in this room, alright?__"__ Kakashi gave his approval by nodding and the Hokage continued, "The first thing you should be aware of is the fact that Naruto is the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."_

"_Konoha's jinchuuriki? I thought you announced his death…"_

"_I did, but that was to protect Naruto's true whereabouts. Another thing you should know is that the Uchiha clan massacre was not caused by Uchiha Itachi, but by Orochimaru."_

"_Another lie…"_

"_Again, it was to protect Itachi's location and his secret mission. His S-class mission was to infiltrate the missing-nin organization of Akatsuki. Unfortunately, at the time, Naruto and Itachi had become particularly close and Naruto refused to let Itachi leave. Thus, I sent both of them on this mission."_

"_So you labelled Itachi as missing-nin for Konoha's own benefit… but how did the Akatsuki take to Naruto's presence?"_

"_As far as my knowledge goes, Itachi said that he was his apprentice. After that point, I received no reports from them until several years later, but I take it that they were travelling a lot, so they did not have time to send any reports in."_

"_Was that when Naruto was coming back to take the genin exams?"_

"_Yes. I do not know what Itachi has taught Naruto, nor do I know what skills Naruto possesses."_

"_Maa, what a complicated story." Both males shared a good laugh at that thought._

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's voice broke the silver-haired male out of his flashback.

"Aa, sorry, I was just remembering something important." Kakashi replied, "I think… Zabuza might still be alive."

"WHAT?!" Sakura exclaimed, shock evident on her face. Sasuke had the same look on his, though he didn't express that verbally.

"What made you jump to that conclusion?" Sasuke questioned, scowling, but at the same time looking slightly pleased.

Not one to disagree with her crush, Sakura nodded, "Yeah, sensei, didn't you confirm his death?"

Kakashi gave a sigh, "I did, but Zabuza was simply put into a near-death state. I can say this confidently because --"

"Senbon have a low-fatality rate and hunter-nins usually dispose of the body on the spot, correct?" A voice interrupted. All three heads in the room turned to see Naruto; however, he was not wearing his orange jumpsuit anymore. Instead, he had a white cropped short-sleeve jacket with a black shirt underneath and black pants that were fitted.

"You're right, Naruto." Kakashi answered. Meanwhile, Sakura gaped at Naruto's new look - he looked… _hot_. Sasuke saw his teammate's awed look and mentally sighed. Though he did have to admit that he liked this outfit better than that horrid jumpsuit.

"Uh… what happened to your orange… thing?" The only female asked, eager to jump to a not-so-morbid topic.

Naruto stared at her for a moment before saying, bluntly, "I hate orange."

"… Oh."

"Anyway, we should start training. I'd say we have about a week before Zabuza comes after us again." Their jounin instructor explained.

"Are you sure you can even get out of bed, sensei?" Naruto retorted.

Kakashi glared at his student, "Of course I can, I'll just need a pair of crutches." The blonde shrugged and gave up on arguing with his teacher. Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, entered the room at that point.

"Oh, sensei, you're awake!" Tsunami cried out, "Do you need anything?"

He gave her a smile and politely asked if they had crutches. Tsunami, glad to be of help, left to find a pair, while Tazuna sat down at the end of Kakashi's futon.

"Tazuna-san, I fear we might have a problem."

"What problem?"

"Zabuza might still be alive."

"WHAT?" Tazuna cursed under his breath. That definitely wasn't good news and it means that Zabuza will attack the bridge to get to Tazuna. At this point, the blue-haired female returned to the bedroom with crutches.

She gave a brilliant smile and handed them to the one-eyed jounin, who thanked her and proceeded to struggle to his feet with the help of the crutches.

"Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, follow me. We have to start training right away." Kakashi told them sternly and they complied without a single moment of hesitation.

--

A while later, the group of four reached a clearing in a nearby forest. The three genins looked around, mildly interested and curious as to what they would be learning. Kakashi smiled fondly at their expressions.

"Alright then. Today, you will be learning how to climb a tree… without your hands." Sakura gave an overly loud "HUH?" and Sasuke seemed confused. "Observe closely. Channel your chakra to your feet and walk up the side of the tree."

Sakura gaped, amazed by the wonders of what kind of skills and advantages chakra could give to a ninja. A moment later, Kakashi hung upside down on one of the tree's branches. As quickly as he had gone up, he jumped down and gave them a go-ahead.

"Use your kunai to mark your progress. If you can master this skill, I might teach you a new jutsu."

Sasuke looked determined to master this technique the instant he heard Kakashi's deal and didn't even bother to channel his chakra to his feet before jumping right at the tree, since he thought he was superior to everyone else. After getting a few feet up, he fell down, but not before he marked the tree with his kunai.

Sakura giggled, delightedly as she sat at the top. However, she was not the only one who had it made it there; Naruto also hung upside down, looking slightly bored. Sasuke scowled. Why was a fan girl and a dead last able to complete the given task before the Rookie of the Year?

Kakashi gave a thumbs up to the green-eyed girl and the blonde, then his face turned serious, "Sakura, the reason you were able to easily learn this technique is because you possess a small chakra capacity. So, I'll teach you a few tips on how to expand it. Naruto, please keep an eye on Sasuke."

The said boy gave his foxy smile to the jounin, which somehow reassured him. With that, he led Sakura off to a different area as to not distract the Uchiha.

--

A few hours later, Sasuke was slowly making progress - his scratches in the tree trunk were only getting slightly higher. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the newly clothed male. Swallowing his gigantic pride and gathering some courage, he approached the blonde.

"Uh… dobe…" Naruto didn't respond or show any signs of hearing Sasuke. The Uchiha stared at his blue-eyed teammate. Naruto's usually annoying and constantly grinning face was placid and dazed today, as if he was lost in his memories.

"Naruto!" Sasuke tried again, finally getting a reply out of him.

"… Itachi-nii..?" He whispered, barely audible, as he looked up at Sasuke's face and rubbed one of his eyes. The dark-eyed teen didn't seem to hear what he had said though. Naruto pulled his teammate down into a hug, causing Sasuke's face to turn pink, "Did you just get back from a mission? Your hair is messy at the back…"

It had been such a long time since anyone had held him in a close embrace. No one, not even his fan girls, had dared to get near him to the point of hugging. Even so, this was different from the ones his mother had given him so long ago. As the blonde held him close, he felt warm, yet embarrassed at the same time. With his mother, he felt comfortable and her kindness.

Then he was jerked out of his thoughts when Naruto mumbled his _brother's_ name. He tore away from Naruto, which caused the blonde to become fully aware of the situation at hand. He cursed multiple times in his mind.

_How could I be so foolish as to let my guard down, in front of Sasuke nonetheless?_ Naruto mentally berated himself and prepared for the worst case scenario.

Finally, the dreaded question stumbled out of the Uchiha's mouth, "Naruto… how do you know Itachi?" Sasuke demanded.

--

After note: I know, I know! I'm horrible. After keeping all of you waiting for an entire _year_, I have to come up with a cliffhanger! I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist… D:" Please don't kill me… but I hoped you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless. Hopefully, I'll get another chapter up this summer, but I still have to attend summer school.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS!! I love you all!

Anyway, the poll for pairings is officially closed! Thank you to everyone who read and voted. The final pairing for this story is ItaNaru, although there might be some one-sided SasuNaru. There won't be a lot of romance though…

Also, your opinions were greatly appreciated, but I have decided that…

1. Naruto will not have a bloodline.  
2. Team 7 will find out bits of Naruto's past.  
3. Gaara and Naruto will know each other.

_Stay tuned for the next chapter -- Chapter 7: Tight Situations_

_And ku.ro-puu disappears in the flames of youth (sorry, couldn__'__t help myself XD)!_


	8. Chapter 7: Tight Situations

Chapter 7: Tight Situations

By: ku.ro-puu26

--

_Crap, what am I going to do now?_ Naruto cursed himself, mentally. He racked his brain for an answer to his question, as Sasuke looked on, impatiently.

"So, are you going to answer me, Naruto?" The Uchiha crossed his arms as he said this. Naruto didn't reply, but instead, he made a series of hand seals.

_Sorry, Itachi-nii... I don't know what else to do with your brother..._ The blonde murmured something fairly quietly. Sasuke felt darkness creeping around the corners of his vision and the last thing he saw was his team mate giving him a bitter smile. As the dark haired boy lost consciousness, Naruto caught him mid-fall.

"Sorry, Sasuke, but now is not the time for the truth." Naruto sighed and slung Sasuke's arm over his shoulder. The memory jutsu he had used on his team mate was only temporary - meaning Naruto would have to be careful never to mention Itachi's name around the other Uchiha again. That also meant that he would have to watch for other people.

The sun was currently setting and night was falling fast upon the two. Gradually, Naruto began walking back to Tazuna's house and he told their jounin instructor that Sasuke had merely fainted out of chakra exhaustion. There were no questions asked, just Sakura fussing over her "idol's" well-being, causing Sasuke to wake.

At that point, they all enjoyed a warm meal thanks to Tsunami's cooking.

"Sensei, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Sakura asked, a slightly eager expression on her face. Kakashi gave a smile from beneath his mask and replied, "More on expanding your chakra reserves and then, maybe I'll teach you all a few jutsus."

Sasuke gave a smug smirk, looking pleased at what was in store for the day to come. Suddenly, the little boy with the hat, Tsunami's son, stood up, his gaze downcast.

"Why do you try so hard? You're all gonna die anyway! Gatou is too strong!" Inari shouted, appearing like he was about to cry out of frustration.

"Well, at least we're trying something, brat." Naruto seemed miffed at the brunette's statements.

"Stop trying to be heroes! There's no such thing as a hero!" The smaller male exclaimed, his fist clenched. Tears began to fall down his cheeks as he spoke again, "Look at you! You guys are always smiling and joking around!"

A bout of silence ensued and Inari saw this as an opportune moment to continue, dropping the bomb upon the group of ninjas, "I bet you guys have been coddled all of your lives! You've never experienced true pain!"

Both Sasuke and Naruto froze at that statement, but it was the blonde who decided to speak his mind. He got up and slowly stalked out of the room.

As he was halfway out the door, he looked over his shoulder, his eyes an icy blue, "You've never felt the pain when trying to kill someone you love, or the humiliation of being beaten into the ground. You've never had to deal with something that was completely beyond your control, so don't talk to a ninja about pain."

Sakura swore she felt the temperature in the room drop at least a few degrees. Naruto's words had cut through them like a knife through butter and made everyone wonder what he had been through in the short span of his life. His eyes remained that cold shade of blue and they almost sighed in relief when he released them from his intense gaze.

The sounds of soft footsteps echoed in the dining room and bit by bit faded out as the door closed shut. The meal they were having continued on in absolute silence.

_Has Naruto already killed someone?_ Sakura thought, shivering as she remembered that look in his eyes. She had never seen that kind of glare grace the blonde's face.

--

Naruto sighed and lay himself down on the grass. Thinking about what had just happened, made his brain hurt. He was tired, so he closed his eyes and gradually drifted into a light sleep.

--

Inari sat with his knees tucked up to his chest and gloomily stared out onto the dark sky. A pair of feet could be heard approaching him, but he didn't bother to look behind him.

"Could I speak to you for a moment?" It was that silver-haired ninja that his grandfather had hired. He spoke in a gentle tone and the brunette nodded, albeit a little hesitant.

"Tazuna-san told us about Kaiza a little while back. I know Naruto can be a little harsh sometimes, but I thought you should know that… Naruto also grew up without a father. Actually, he grew up without any parents or relatives to love him." Kakashi explained, looking out into the ocean view as well, "But I know that Naruto has refused to give up, which is why he is a ninja today."

Inari nodded again, still not looking up. Kakashi gave a sigh and, seeing that he could not say anymore, left.

--

Birds happily chirped and the sun was barely out from underneath its blanket, making it only bright enough to see. Haku, dressed in a pink kimono and a basket in hand, carefully gathered herbs so that he could heal his mentor. He would've continued, but he spotted his comrade's still body in the clearing next to the one where he was collecting herbs. Haku abandoned the basket for the moment and kneeled over Naruto.

Just as Haku was going to shake the boy awake, one blue eye blinked wearily up at the long haired brunette.

"Hi, Haku-kun." Naruto smiled softly up at his friend, which was returned.

"Naruto-kun, why are with Konoha?" The effeminate male inquired, gesturing towards the hitai-ate that he wore around his forehead. Unconsciously, at the mention of it, he reached up to feel the headband, almost as if unused to the idea of it being there.

"Konoha is my birth village, but I hate it there. I only came back because Hokage-sama asked me to."

Haku nodded, understanding what he was saying, "Ah, that explains everything."

"My turn then, Haku-kun. Why are you with Zabuza?" Naruto shot back.

"Zabuza-sama is one of the few precious people I have in this world; a long time ago, he took me in as his apprentice and saved me from the miserable life as an orphan." Haku explained, a hint of sadness in his voice, "But I'm afraid I should be leaving now… after all, one of your team mates is approaching…"

The brown-eyed teen gave Naruto a quick hug and gracefully walked past Sasuke. As Sasuke appeared in the clearing, he called out to the blonde, "Oi, dobe! Thought you'd be out here. Everyone's having breakfast now, so you'd better hurry up if you want anything to eat."

To Sasuke, there was a beautiful moment, where Naruto looked at him and gave him a sincere and soft smile. His heart thumped, slightly louder, before he turned away - a slight pink tone on his face. Then that turned into a full-blown grin, the stupid one had returned.

"Aw, Sasuke-_kun_, were you concerned about my health?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows, suggestively.

Sasuke whipped his head, so fast that Naruto thought he might get whiplash after, and shouted, "NO!"

Naruto held his hands out in front of his face in a sign of surrender, "No need to get upset over it!"

"Just hurry up and get back to Tazuna-san's house." The Uchiha growled, irritated.

_Itachi-nii, I got Sasuke to show a bit of emotion today…_ To Naruto that was an accomplishment and leisurely trudged back to Team Seven's client's house.

--

The two remaining members of Team Seven and Tazuna's family sat in peace as they ate breakfast. The door opened to reveal an annoyed Uchiha and a grinning blonde, contrary from the attitude they had seen last night.

Sakura seemed to be slightly wary of him, while Inari simply glanced at him, before resuming eating. The child was still digesting the information that Kakashi had fed him yesterday evening.

"Good morning, minna!" Naruto shouted, overly happy. Everyone gave a soft reply of "good morning" back to the blonde. Tsunami placed a bowl of soup and rice down at one of the empty seats and invited the Konoha shinobi to eat.

"Thank you!" Those were the last words he spoke before digging into his meal, in a very elegant manner. This was actually the first time that everyone had saw him eat - his straight backed poise and the sultry expression on his face. His long eyelashes framed his bright blue eyes, which were cast downwards, and everyone in the room was mesmerized.

As he was about to put the food in his mouth when he say that everyone was staring at him, "What?" That broke the moment and the occupants in the room rapidly averted their gaze from the blonde, who shrugged and resumed his meal.

A few minutes later, Naruto placed his chopsticks down. Kakashi stood up at this point and said, "Today, I want you guys to spar, one-on-one."

--

The first battle was between Sasuke and Sakura, which ended pitifully. The pink-haired kunoichi not even lasting two minutes.

"Alright then, Naruto and Sasuke, your turn." Kakashi droned and proceeded to stuff his nose in his little orange book.

Naruto was first to attack, throwing three shuriken at his opponent, who dodged with poise. Then the Uchiha called out, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A giant ball of fire launched itself at the blonde and he countered it with his own jutsu, "Fuiton: Kaze no Yaiba."

As soon as Naruto let loose the technique, he was already making hand seals for his next attack.

"Magen: Jubaku Satsu!" Naruto's voice was lost in the sound of the two jutsus cancelling each other out. This served as a distraction and the opportune moment to take advantage of the Uchiha's lack of hearing. Sasuke opened his eyes after he noticed that the explosion had stopped, only to find himself in the clearing by himself. Suddenly a tree sprouted up behind him and its roots held his legs and arms fast to its trunk.

Sasuke struggled hard against his restraints, but to no avail. Then he realized, a little late, that he was stuck in a genjutsu. He proceeded to concentrate, searching for the source of chakra that made up the jutsu. He bit his tongue hard, his eyes tearing up at the pain he felt. The black haired male broke free of the binds and yelled out, "Kai!"

The two genins glared heatedly at each other - they were both evenly matched. Sasuke and Naruto rushed at each other again and again.

The battle continued on for quite a long time and by the time it was finished, both genins were panting for breath. Kakashi knew that Naruto let Sasuke pin him to the ground, after all, the Uzumaki was Itachi's former student. He couldn't have been easily defeated unless he meant to lose.

"Good job, you two. Let's end training here for the day. Sakura, come with me to the bridge and guard Tazuna-san. Sasuke and Naruto, please see to any errands that Tsunami-san may need." Kakashi instructed before walking off with the green-eyed girl tailing behind him.

--

"Oh, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san, you're back awfully early today." Tazuna's daughter commented. The two forementioned nodded and questioned if she needed any help.

"Sasuke-san, could you help me prepare dinner? But I don't have any vegetables… If you don't mind, could you run down to the market and get me some cabbage and carrots, Naruto-kun?"

"No problem, Tsunami-san." The blonde smiled at her and left. Sasuke couldn't help but notice the familiarity between the two. How and when had they met?

--

As Naruto was scanning the aisles for decently fresh cabbage and carrots, he bumped into a fellow customer. He apologized once, before the person he had hit whispered his name.

"Naruto-kun." Haku smiled down at the blonde. The two talked for a while before Naruto realized that he was running errands for Tsunami and rushed off to deliver the goods.

--

Tsunami frowned as she thought that Naruto had been gone for a while - too long though. She turned to the Uchiha, asked if he could check up on Naruto at the market and told him the directions necessary to get there.

"I bet the dobe got lost on the way there," but just as he was about to walk out the door, Naruto opened it.

"Hey, what's up?" The blonde greeted, not really expecting a reply, yet surprised when he did… sort of.

"Hn. You're late, dobe." The previously mentioned teenager simply grinned and handed the groceries to their client's daughter. Naruto said he would go call everyone else in for dinner while Sasuke and Tsunami prepared the vegetables. The coal-eyed boy looked like he was going to ask if he could go instead, but she explained Naruto's predicament and the fact that he would destroy any bit of food he touched.

Sasuke just gave one of his infamous, "hn"s and went to work.

--

"Tazuna-san, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, it's time for dinner" Naruto said in a sing-song voice, as he skipped merrily, waving his arm frantically. All three looked up from what they were doing, appearing greatly relieved for different reasons. The four walked back to the old man's house, chattering happily.

--

The next morning, the sun shone brightly through the uncovered window. Naruto, for some reason, couldn't sleep - he had an uneasy feeling about the day to come. As a result, the blonde ended up oversleeping. He jolted up in bed, sensing two people heading towards the house. They weren't ninja, but certainly capable of causing some damage to civilians like Inari and his mother.

He threw off his pajamas and flew down the stairs, just in time to save Tsunami from committing suicide and Inari from getting killed by the two swordsmen. He knocked them both unconscious with a blow to the back of their neck and swiftly tied them up. As he was about to leave, he came up with a devious thought and cast a genjutsu that let them see terrifying things.

"Serves you right for trying to attack inhabitants of the Wave and taking them as hostages." He muttered, sourly, and dashed off towards the bridge. He hoped that Haku told his master about the plan.

A "thank you, Naruto-niisan!" came from behind him and he couldn't help but feel satisfied at the exclamation.

Yet as he reached the building site, his smile faded off of his face. Sasuke's prone body lay on the ground, needles jutting out of the back of his neck. The only female of the team was kneeled over him, cradling his "corpse", weeping until no end. Naruto merely ignored this scene, only to stumble onto a more horrifying sight…

Haku's effeminate body was dashing towards the small space in between Zabuza and Kakashi's feared original jutsu, _Raikiri_. His eyes widened, the shock evident in them completely genuine.

_NO!_ Naruto cried, taking off as well, but he knew he wouldn't make it - not at this distance. Tears poured down his cheeks, as he witnessed his teacher push the ball of electricity into Haku's chest, who collapsed bonelessly. Naruto followed suit a few seconds later, supporting his friend's bleeding form in his lap, gathering some healing chakra. Tears mixed with the crimson liquid, Zabuza and Kakashi stared at the two, curiously.

"BASTARD!" The Uzumaki abruptly whirled around and lashed out at his sensei, punching him hard in the stomach. He sniffled, while apologizing to the Konoha jounin and remained silent for the moments he checked the masked boy's vitals.

_Ow, what the hell..? I was not expecting Naruto to suddenly attack me._ Kakashi rubbed the spot where he had been struck; there was definitely going to be a bruise there by later.

"… Haku-kun… Stay with me… please." The blonde whimpered, summoning more of his healing techniques. Aforementioned boy cracked his eyes open a little, whispering the name of the one treating his wound.

"This battle is over, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto stated, leaving no room for argument. Gatou and his henchmen had arrived, signifying his betrayal to the missing-nin of the Mist and his apprentice. The silver haired man nodded and called back his ninja dogs off of Zabuza.

"Hand me a kunai, brat. I'm gonna kill this asshole once and for all, even if I die trying." Zabuza's arm were motionless as he reached for the kunai in Naruto's outstretched palm. Gripping the weapon in his mouth, he turned to face the hoard of Gatou's men and began taking them down. Eventually he got to the big cheese and sliced his throat clean. He killed the few remaining men before crumbling to the ground, exhausted.

Zabuza gave a bitter laugh, "Thanks for the fight, Copy Cat Ninja. And you, kid, take care of Haku." Saying that with his last breath, the feared Demon of the Mist passed away.

"I will, Zabuza-san, and I never go back on my word."

--

After note: Alright, finally the Wave arc is finished! . I'm actually pretty proud of how this chapter turned out and I hope you all like it as well! Please review; I'll love you forever and ever and ever… :D

_Stay tuned for the next chapter -- Chapter 8: Preparing for the Chuunin Exams_

_And ku.ro-puu disappears in the flames of youth (sorry, couldn__'__t help myself XD)!_


	9. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**IMPORTANT NOTICE  
**

To all my lovely readers,

First of all, I'm truly sorry that I haven't gotten around to updating any of my multi-chapters stories. University has sapped my creative juices and my free time as well. Chances are that won't change this year either, since I'm entering my fourth year and things are going to be hectic.

This notice is also an announcement. I'm leaving . I'm not sure how many of you are aware of the group "Critics United," but they've been harassing and bullying authors around the site through reviews. They've left plenty of hurtful comments and I would hate to be on the receiving end of any of them, even though I've been spared so far. I've been a part of this community for 10 years and nothing like this has ever happened during my time here. For more information about this issue, check out wtffanfiction . tumblr post/24378135516/important-mass-deletion-of-stories-on-fanfiction-net (just take out the spaces).

Despite all this chaos, if you would still like to follow me, I have recently become a member of Tumblr (kuropuu . tumblr . com) and I will be posting my fanfics there from now on. You can also find me at LiveJournal (hatsuhikari . livejournal . com), and hopefully sooner or later, Archive Of Our Own.

Goodbye and thank you so much for your support over the years.

~ -puu26


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